Brandon Pirri hopes to shine as IceHogs' lone AHL All-Star

ROCKFORD - Brandon Pirri will be the lone Rockford IceHog who doesn't get a full four-day break from hockey this week.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

That's because he is in St. John's, Newfoundland, for the American Hockey League's All-Star Classic.

After competing in the skills competition Tuesday, Pirri will be in action tonight as the AHL All-Stars take on Farjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League. The game will be shown on Comcast Sports Net-Chicago at 7.

It's an honor," said Pirri, who has five goals and nine assists in 18 IceHogs outings, plus six goals with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. "It's going to be a fun trip for me, and I'm looking forward to meeting a few new guys."

Pirri likes the league's new format, where it combines its best players to take on a foreign power. Twenty-one of the 22 AHL all-stars have NHL experience, while Farjestad has nine NHL draft picks.

"I'm sure it will be a feeling-out process the first couple of shifts, to see how the flow of the game is going to be," he said. "You're always being watched by someone, whether it's scouts from a different team, so you want to show well.

"At the same time, you want to celebrate and enjoy."

Reed Schreck: reedschreck1@gmail.com

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